ShowTickets.com Exlcusive: ‘Once On This Island”s Lea Salonga

Lea Salonga (Photo: Raymund Isaac)

By Matthew Wexler

The cast of ‘Once On This Island.’ (Photo: Joan Marcus via The Broadway Blog.)

The Broadway Blog continues our partnership with ShowTickets.com, one of the best online resources for choosing, purchasing, and saving on the most popular shows nationwide. We’ve combined creative forces to bring you exclusive interviews with some of Broadway’s biggest stars. And none shines brighter than Oliver and Tony Award winner Lea Salonga.

Salonga is back on Broadway for the sixth time in the much-anticipated revival of Once On This Island, a fantastical musical about a young peasant girl who falls in love with a wealthy boy.

With music and lyrics by the Tony Award-winning duo of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Anastasia, Ragtime), the story of unrequited love echoes Salonga’s first foray into musical theater, though Once On This Island’s otherworldly Caribbean plot relies on the appearance of several powerful gods.

Salonga portrays Erzulie, the Goddess of Love. For anyone who has seen Salonga on stage or in concert, or listened to one of her many albums (including the recent release of “Blurred Lines,” which was recorded live during her sold-out run last year at Feinstein’s/54 Below), it’s perfect casting. The international star imbues love in each of her ventures, whether it’s onstage, serving as a judge on The Voice of the Philippines (similar to the hit NBC version) or raising her beautiful daughter Nicole with husband, Rob Chien.